Tell us a bit about yourself and your background
I originally studied mathematics for my undergraduate at Durham University before studying for a master’s in statistics at McMaster University in Canada. I have then spent the last year working as a Research Fellow in Medical Statistics at St Georges, University of London working on diabetic risk prediction and the diabetic eye screening programme. Throughout my education and career so far I have taken a particular interest in statistics, programming and epidemiology.
How did you become interested in health data science?
During my undergraduate degree I completed an internship in cure rate models, an area highly applicable to health data sets. I then extended this for my master’s thesis which involved developing a new bivariate cure rate model, deriving and implementing an expectation maximisation algorithm and applying it to a dataset on diabetic retinopathy.
I really enjoyed the whole process of thinking about how better to model health data, the computational side of implementing the algorithm to fit the model and run simulation studies and finally the application of the model to a health dataset to reach new conclusions. This is what sparked my initial interest in health data science.
What attracted you to the HDR UK programme?
I want to be able to combine my interest in statistics, programming and research with a career that enables me to work with others and have a positive impact on society, which aligned strongly with HDR UK’s key principles. The flexibility of the programme allows me to complete some rotations before suggesting my own project proposal meaning I can find my strengths and create the best supervision team possible. This flexibility combined with the support offered by HDR UK in terms of leadership training, funding and collaboration opportunities meant I was attracted to this programme.
What are you looking forward to about the PhD?
I am looking forward to learning and researching new areas, particularly in my rotations. I am excited about the potential collaborations both within my university but also across the programme. Finally, once I’ve chosen my project I am looking forward to diving in more deeply and hopefully advancing both my own knowledge, and the field.
Do you have plans for the future?
I want a career that allows problem solving, collaboration and learning whilst making a positive impact. Currently I feel this leads me to a career in academia and I am hoping through this programme I can build up a network and the required skills. I would also love the opportunity to live and study abroad again.
